Software & Versions
Software is every tool you use: crackers, exploits, firewalls, hashers, viruses, antivirus, collector, and more.
Version number is the most important attribute of software. Higher versions are stronger, and version decides almost every exchange in the game: your cracker against their hasher, your exploit against their firewall, your antivirus against a virus. Higher number wins.
That strength has a cost: higher versions need more disk to store, more RAM to run, and take longer to upload and download.
The combat and utility tools, by file type:
| Software | File | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Cracker | .crc | Cracks a server or bank-account password — beats their hasher. |
| Hasher | .hash | Sets how strong your password is — resists crackers. |
| Firewall | .fwl | Blocks exploits, and also softens incoming DDoS damage. |
| Port scanner | .scan | Checks whether your exploits can beat a target's firewall. |
| Antivirus | .av | Wipes every virus at or below its own version. |
| Hider | .hdr | Hides inactive files — beats a seeker. |
| Seeker | .skr | Reveals files others have hidden — beats a hider. |
Your FTP and SSH exploits work the same way, versioned against the target's firewall, and are covered in Hacking 101. The three earning viruses (miner, warez, spam) and the collector that sweeps them live in Earning Money. The DDoS virus and doom are weapons rather than everyday tools; they get their own pages (DDoS & Botnets and Doom & Winning, coming soon).
Three ways to raise your versions, cheapest first:
- NPCs — Download software from NPCs. Follow the Riddle Trail to progress to higher versions, up to v15.0 for most software types.
- Other Players — Hacking other players may result in finding new software and/or higher versions. Some players may opt to use the Download Center to share software, so check it often.
- Research it — at the University, upgrade a file you already own to a higher version for money and time: roughly half an hour per 0.1 of version, paid from a bank account. There's much more to research on the Research page: the cost curve, the shared version ceiling, and what's worth your money.
Before you can research a piece of software, you must buy its license. A license only unlocks research; it doesn't gate using, installing, or earning with the software. A license only applies to the instance of the software for which it's purchased. If you download a new copy, regardless of the version, it will need its own license purchased to research.